Wabtec Corp. announced Monday that it has purchased Xorail LLC for $40 million in cash and that it expects the transaction to be accretive in the first year.

Based in Jacksonville, Fla., Xorail has annual revenue of about $40 million from the sale of engineering, design, and construction services, mainly for railway signaling systems. These include wayside signaling, positive train control, and grade crossing warning systems for Class I railroads and passenger transit authorities in North America.

Founded in 1990 as Southwest Signal Engineering Company, Xorail now has 10 satellite offices with about 275 employees. Kash Krishnarao, president of Xorail, will remain with the company.

“Xorail's engineering and wayside capabilities are a good fit with our existing railway electronics business,” said Albert J.Neupaver, Wabtec's president and chief executive officer. “In addition, these capabilities position Wabtec for a larger role as the rail industry implements positive train control technology over the next several years.”

Wabtec Corp. is a global provider of value-added, technology-based products and services for the rail industry. Through its subsidiaries, the company manufactures a range of products for locomotives, freight cars, and passenger transit vehicles. The company also builds new switcher and commuter locomotives, and provides aftermarket services. The company has facilities located throughout the world.

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Wabtec Corp. announced Monday that it has purchased Xorail LLC for $40 million in cash and that it expects the transaction to be accretive in the first year.Based in Jacksonville, Fla., Xorail has annual revenue of about $40 ...

The American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association says registration for its annual meeting in Orlando, Fla., is available onlinethis year, as in the past, and urges early registration. “Register by March 31, and save up to $100 on your registration fee. Fees go up an additional $50 on April 1, and again on April 21,” ASLRRA says.

ASLRRA also notes, “We are still holding onto the railroad room block at the Hilton Bonnet Creek, but it is filling fast and we will need to open it up to the rest of the membership by the end of the week.”

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The American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association says registration for its annual meeting in Orlando, Fla., is available onlinethis year, as in the past, and urges early registration. “Register by March 31, and save up to $100 on your registrat ...

New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority says it is evaluating a plan to establish wireless Internet services at Grand Central Terminal and Penn Station-New York, both in Manhattan, and for Metro-North and Long Island Rail Road trains.

MTA reportedly has invited companies to submit proposals for installing WiFi. Any company securing a contract with MTA would be expected to finance the project itself. MTA seeks to establish such service by year’s end.

Still unclear is whether customers would be expected to pay for WiFi service or whether any provider could generate revenue by other means. Amtrak recently introduced Wi-Fi service on its Acela trains plying the Northeast Corridor, initially at no charge to Amtrak customers.

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New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority says it is evaluating a plan to establish wireless Internet services at Grand Central Terminal and Penn Station-New York, both in Manhattan, and for Metro-North and Long Island Rail Road trains. ...

In a report characterized by Washington Area Metropolitan
Area Transit Authority Board Chairman Peter Benjamin as “withering,”
former WMATA General Manager David Gunn (pictured at left) says it will take three years for a
new management team to turn around the agency’s accident-plagued Metrorail
rail transit system—the nation’s second busiest—that serves the capital
city.

The board hired Gunn, 72, an industry veteran who served as
Metro general manager from 1991 to 1994, “to diagnose Metro’s ills and outline
solutions” and “to provide an analysis on the current status of Metro, identify
issues of concern, and recommend corrective actions to alleviate the
identified concerns.”

Gunn’s report “was more than frank, it was withering," Benjamin
said after hearing Gunn’s oral assessment at a board meeting. “He gave us a
very clear, very honest, unvarnished-truth type of assessment, and told us we
have a lot of issues we have to deal with, and we have to deal with them
immediately.”

Gunn’s report comes as Metro faces an unprecedented number
of safety investigations into deadly accidents (such as last year’s Red Line
wreck, pictured, that killed nine, attributed to a failure of the automatic
train control system); instability and vacancies in its senior management; and
growing deficits in its operating and capital budgets, including a projected
$190 million gap in its $1.4 billion operating budget for the fiscal year that
begins in July.

A summary of the report released March 11 by WMATA said Gunn
urges speedy recruitment of a new general manager with a strong operating
and technical background, along with the “hiring and retaining” of senior
managers with solid engineering experience. He also urges the troubled
agency to “level with the public regarding the seriousness of the problems
facing Metro,” and he called for an end to a “shoot the messenger” culture that
discourages employees from reporting safety problems.

The report followed by exactly one week Federal Transit
Administrator Peter M. Rogoff’s call for a “top to bottom” change in the
way Metro handles safety issues. Reporting the findings of a safety audit
prepared for Congress, Rogoff called Metro’s Safety Department “dysfunctional
and ineffective.”

“Mr. Gunn’s recommendations will help the board move forward
in working with Interim General Manager Richard Sarles and it will help us
select the next permanent general manager to head the transit agency,”
said Board Chairman Benjamin. Sarles will arrive on March 29.

According to the summary, Gunn’s recommendations include
these:

“Create a workplace where safety is openly discussed,
problems are reported and solved, and all employees, supervisors, and
managers know they can ask for help without fear. Provide all employees
with the training and knowledge required to be safe and ensure the system
is safe;

“Avoid service cuts to Metrorail; recognize cost recovery of
80% on rail and 35% on bus. Manage rail fare increases realistically to
minimize ridership losses. Allocate financial resources based on the
system’s operating and capital needs. Educate the public about
financial realities: this trend cannot continue.

“Increase direct reports to the general manager for better
control and strengthen senior management. Merge engineering and
maintenance functions around systems (examples: signals, power, track).

“Monitor monthly reports to assure goals are being met
(examples: miles of track, ties, fasteners, joints, and turnouts
replaced).

“Recruit a permanent general manager with a strong operating
and technical background; the quality of the next general manager will
significantly affect the ability to hire competent senior managers. Recruit
experienced senior managers with engineering experience to fill
many currently open positions. Hire and train qualified staff to address
the maintenance backlog.

“Overcome the negative impact of reductions in force and
early retirements. Stop using hiring freezes to control the budget.
Introduce a new reporting regimen so that quantifiable goals are tied to
the capital and operating budgets. Prioritize capital and operating
budgets by asset class (ex: bus procurement, rail replacement, ties, etc.)

At a meeting Thursday in Washington, D.C., Amtrak officials said ridership for the first fiscal quarter of 2010 (Oct.-Dec. 2009) was up over the comparable period in FY09, when ridership declined due to recession. But the first quarter also trumped its first-quarter FY08 counterpart; Amtrak notched record ridership in the 12 months of FY08.

“Ridership and revenue are ahead of plan,” said Amtrak Vice President of Government Affairs and Corporate Communications Joe McHugh, addressing members of the Railway Supply Institute assembled to exchange ideas on Amtrak’s supply needs.

McHugh noted FY10 ridership so far also was strong throughout the Amtrak system. Responding to a question on Northeast Corridor performance, McHugh said Amtrak now commanded 65%-to-66% of the combined air/rail market between New York and Washington, D.C.More surprising to some attending was the gains made by the NEC between New York and Boston; McHugh said Amtrak now held “50%-to-51% of the air/rail market” there.

The information exchange came as Amtrak and the supplier industry discussed the promises and problems involved in acquiring rolling stock and other supplies for future service improvements and expansion, and the best approach for both the passenger carrier and the supplier community to secure such improvement.

The need for rolling stock, in particular is becoming critical: Consultant Rob Edgcumbe, assisting Amtrak’s Operations Department, noted that the carrier’s current operating fleet has “an average age of over 25 years—the highest in Amtrak history, even older than the 1971 average,” when Amtrak inherited used passenger equipment from numerous railroads.

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At a meeting Thursday in Washington, D.C., Amtrak officials said ridership for the first fiscal quarter of 2010 (Oct.-Dec. 2009) was up over the comparable period in FY09, when ridership declined due to recession. But the first quarter also trumped its first- ...

The Association of American Railroads has announced that Thomas L. Farmer will join its Safety & Operations department staff as assistant vice president, security, effective April 5, 2010. Farmer will be responsible for heading the industry’s efforts to continue to provide safe, efficient transportation of goods through the freight rail system in coordination with the various federal agencies overseeing freight rail security.

Farmer most recently served as acting general manager, mass transit, for the Transportation Security Administration, where he spent six years in a variety of TSA-rail related positions beginning as senior counsel-intermodal programs.

“We are delighted that Tom will be joining the AAR team. The railroads have an absolute commitment to maintain the highest standards with our security program. Tom’s unique background and experience will provide real value as we continue to expand the industry’s work in the field of security,” said Edward Hamberger, AAR president and CEO, in a statement.

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The Association of American Railroads has announced that Thomas L. Farmer will join its Safety & Operations department staff as assistant vice president, security, effective April 5, 2010. Farmer will be responsible for heading the industry’s effort ...

Amtrak and the Kansas Department of Transportation have released a feasibility study for a possible intercity rail passenger service to link Kansas City and Fort Worth, Tex., thorough an extension of Amtrak’s Heartland Flyer, which currently links Fort Worth with Oklahoma City.

Four alternatives were studied. One option, a daytime train linking Fort Worth and Kansas City’s Union Station in 12 hours, showed the bes tridership potential.

Amtrak currently operates in Union Station; other Kansas cities to be served by the extension include Topeka and Lawrence (both currently servedby Amtrak’s Southwest Chief), Emporia, and Wichita.

The state legislature must evaluate the options before Kansas officials seek state and federal funding. Any decision would also needbacking from Oklahoma and Texas. The state legislature has advanced legislative approval for the effort, which would authorize KDOT to enter into a passenger rail agreement. The bill has yet to be signed by Gov. Mark Parkinson.

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Amtrak and the Kansas Department of Transportation have released a feasibility study for a possible intercity rail passenger service to link Kansas City and Fort Worth, Tex., thorough an extension of Amtrak’s Heartland Flyer, which currently link ...

British-based Nomad Digital has signed a £1.5 million ($2.3 billion) contract with Swiss train manufacturer Stadler Bussnang AG to equip 50 new FLIRT trains with its high speed broadband communications system for Norwegian State Railways (NSB).

Nomad said it already provides NSB (Norges Statsbaner) with services on its existing trains, including passenger Internet access and onboard entertainment.Numerousinnovative applications will beincluded on the new fleet of Stadler FLIRT electric trains, Nomad said. NSB will use Nomad’s system to monitor energy usage, while Stadler will use the system to monitor on-train systems to support on-going maintenance.

Nomad’ssystem provides a seamless broadband connection of up to 5MB per second, allowing a moving train to switch between a number of different Norwegian mobile operators. NSB passengers are able to access a portal page for real time journey and key destination information. The portal also offers a sophisticated passenger information system, access to the Internet, and entertainment such as films, games, and music.

Nomad Executive Chairman Nigel Wallbridge said: “This deal with Stadler and NSB represents another breakthrough for Nomad Digital. We are delighted to be an integral part of anew build train. NSB is a train operator that has a clear policy of using IP data connections to the train for many purposes.Not only do we offer a range of sophisticated passenger service options but NSB also makes savings on energy usage, maintenance turnaround times, and downtime.”

Kjell-Arthur Abrahamsen, NSB project manager, said “NSB haveevaluated a wide range of suppliers in the market before we concluded that the Nomad was the best overall. In particular, we emphasize Nomad’s expertise to deliver forward-looking solutions based on standardized components.”

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British-based Nomad Digital has signed a £1.5 million ($2.3 billion) contract with Swiss train manufacturer Stadler Bussnang AG to equip 50 new FLIRT trains with its high speed broadband communications system for Norwegian State Railways (NSB). ...

The Association of American Railroads reported Thursday that freight volume on U.S. railroads continues to show signs of recovery, with both carload and intermodal traffic registering gains from last year during the week ended March 6. ...

RailAmerica, Inc., reported that its total freight carloads for the month ended February 28, 2010 were 66,409, up 1.4% from 65,488 in February 2009. These results exclude the discontinued Ottawa Valley Railway operation. ...